Band of the Week: Darlingside

Some acts are neglected only because the sheer crush of music that overwhelms us every single day makes it virtually impossible to hear/see/experience transcendent music. That some acts languish in obscurity remains a cruel twist of fate. Or that they're never praised by hipsters on every culture blog in our ever-expanding universe is sometimes just luck of the draw. Or rather, the lack of drawing such a lucky card. This will not happen to the extraordinarily talented Darlingside, a band that I caught live a few short years ago at Rockwood Music Hall in New York. Not sure if I would have "discovered" them had I not been there that night to see some other act. Happy accident or destiny? Regardless, this four-person indie folk band hails from Cambridge, MA. The band consists of Don Mitchell, Auyon Mukharji, Harris Paseltiner, and David Senft. They make and perform beautiful noise. And they deserve your full attention.

NPR described them as “exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop.” I find them to be more "baroque Americana" with their banjo, violin, acoustic guitar and bass interplay and, of course, their sumptuous vocals.

Not sure if they're working on anything new, but they're currently out on tour. They'll be at the Edmonton Folk Festival in a few weeks -- Sunday, August 13th. Check their website for more dates.

And speaking of festivals... I found this clip of them performing Joni Mitchell's anthem "Woodstock" and just had to share it. After all, it's summer and Woodstock happened from August 15-18th in 1969. And we're only two short years away from the 50th anniversary.

Hey, Michael Lang, I hope Darlingside gets booked for it.

peace, Dusty

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Mr. Wright is a content creator and cultural curator. He was a contributor to the Huffington Post, former DJ at David Lynch's Transcendental Music Radio, the former editor of Creem and Prince's New Power Generation magazines as well as a writer of films, fiction, and television. He's also a singer/songwriter who has released five solo albums and one with folk-rock quartet